Ralph Abercromby, 2nd Baron Dunfermline (6 April 1803 – 2 July 1868) was a Scottish nobleman and diplomat, styled The Honourable from 1839 to 1858.

Life

Ralph Abercromby was the son and heir of James Abercromby, a barrister and Whig politician, and Lady Mary Anne (Marianne) Leigh. Abercomby was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...

. He entered the

Diplomatic Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to ...

, becoming an

attaché In diplomacy, an attaché is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified accor ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

in 1821 and a

précis Précis () or precis may refer to: *an abridgement or summary **Critical précis, a type of written text ** IRAC case brief, in law * ''Précis'' (album), a 2006 music album * ''Precis'' (butterfly), a genus of butterflies *Mitsubishi Precis, a ma ...

writer in the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

in 1827. He was Secretary of Legation at Berlin from 1831 to 1835, and Minister at

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

from 1835 to 1838. On 18 September 1838 he married Lady Mary Elizabeth Gilberta Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, daughter of

the Earl of Minto Earl of Minto, in the County of Roxburgh, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1813 for Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Baron Minto. The current earl is Gilbert Timothy George Lariston Elliot-Murray-Kynynm ...

. From 1838 to 1840 he was Minister to the

German Confederation The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...

, from 1840 to 1851 Minister at

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, and from 1851 to 1858 Minister at

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

. In 1851 he was awarded a Knight Commander of the Bath ( KCB). Upon his father's death in 1858 he succeeded to the Barony, as 2nd Baron Dunfermline, and lived at the family home Colinton House, Midlothian (now in Edinburgh). In 1863 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

, upon the nomination of Sir John M'Neill.Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783-2002 He died without a male heir in 1868, and the Barony became extinct.

References

External links

* 1803 births 1868 deaths 19th-century Scottish people Diplomats from Edinburgh People educated at Eton College Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge Barons Dunfermline Diplomatic peers Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Netherlands

Ralph Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

Eldest sons of British hereditary barons {{UK-baron-stub